As the Internet grows in both complexity and popularity, the need for effective systems, interfaces and methods for interacting with the Internet have increased. As a result of the Internet's growth, many Internet users are confronted with websites that permit access to hundreds, if not thousands, of web pages, files, documents and other types of information. In many cases, Internet content may be so voluminous that it cannot fit on a single display device. Thus, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Internet users to interact with and display information from the Internet.
In response to this difficulty, many Internet applications and interfaces now incorporate one or more scroll bars or sliders whereby Internet users may manipulate an input device and move through the body of text or other Internet content. Some Internet applications and interfaces may also provide navigational controls (e.g., “page up” or “page down” references) that may permit Internet users to navigate to different portions of a single or related set of web pages. Other Internet applications and interfaces may employ other types of controls, including but not limited to supplying links to popular Internet content (e.g., “Table of Contents,” “Products,” “Shopping Cart,” or “Store Locator” web pages) or sections of a web page, to help Internet users navigate Internet content.
Despite these and similar measures to improve user interaction with the Internet, Internet users regularly navigate away from the web pages or portions of web pages that contain navigational controls. Internet users who navigate away from navigational controls may waste valuable time returning to the navigational controls or forget that such controls are available. In many cases, Internet users that are confronted with a vast amount of web page content may be required to use a navigational control that dynamically changes its properties (e.g., appearance and scroll speed) in response to the amount of web page content. In these cases, Internet users may not recognize the changed properties, or they may find that changing properties frustrate them In yet other cases, navigational controls may only permit navigation to web pages or portions of web page that are of no interest to the Internet user. In still other cases, Internet applications and interfaces designed to surmount these problems make it increasingly difficult for advertisers and other business persons to present a persistent ad presence to Internet users who may, for example, use a navigational control that inadvertently leads the Internet user away from advertising content.